Friday, August 18, 2006

The Sanctity of the "Do Not Disturb" Sign


Chinese housekeeping staff just don't attach the same meaning to the little sign you hang on the door. Rather than seeing it as an opportunity to avoid cleaning one more room, they seem to wage an endless internal struggle until eventually they give in and and knock anyways to see if you want your room cleaned. They don't mean any harm--after all they just want to clean your room for you--but for some reason this cultural difference is hard to get over. We just value our privacy in the west, whereas the Chinese language lacks even a word for the concept.

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